Joel Abney originally signed his young son up for flag football, but Christian Abney begged his dad to let him play tackle. He told his dad he was ready for the next level. After talking to coaches, he switched his son to tackle.
“I guess I was just kind of excited to be there with the big boys,” Christian said. “I just wanted to get to it.”
A few years later, Christian was named the starting quarterback at Zionsville Middle School. He had played multiple sports from baseball to basketball, football to lacrosse and he said he enjoyed them all. Football eventually became the one he focused on, and he started to dream about playing Division I college football.
Now, after two seasons as the starting quarterback with Zionsville Community High School and is ranked as the tenth quarterback in the state of Indiana, Christian has decided his next step and will live his dream at Ball State playing Division I football.
He was offered earlier this summer and committed only 12 days after getting the offer.
“The developing relationships with the coaching staff like Coach Elliot, Coach Lynch and all the other coaches there [was important],” Christian said. “I really liked the family aspect to have there, and I thought it'd be a great fit for me, so I ended up committing really soon.”
Joel appreciated the Cardinals’ process.
“Part of the reason that we were so excited with the Ball State encounter from the beginning was that they showed a definite interest in him,” he said. “I really liked that, and it's just been a mutual, genuine, neat experience.”
In his first year as the starter during his junior year of high school, Christian threw 1,006 yards and 11 touchdowns. He did so after missing most of the season due to a broken collarbone.
“At first, it was super frustrating because you know, you worked so hard to get to the season,” he said. “All of a sudden, three games in and your whole season might be done. It was super frustrating because a lot of people didn't think I would come back or told me I probably wouldn't be able to.”
Zionsville head football coach Scott Turnquist thought Christian handled the injury well. Turnquist said Christian supported his teammates and was patient, ultimately working himself back in at the end of the season. However, he said Christian wasn’t just talented on the field.
“Christian has always been a good leader by example,” Turnquist said. “He is a player and a student who our program can always count on to do everything we ask at a very high level in both effort and execution.”
Every year Zionsville votes on team captains, this year they selected Christian.
“It feels really good because I always want to be a guy that my team feels like they can rely on,” he said. “So I'm just really happy to be in that situation where they feel like that.”
After several years of participating in athletics, Christian said the bus ride after winning the 2021-2022 semi-state game against Michigan City his junior year stood out.
“We had like a three-hour bus ride and got to come back with a win after a really cold, hard game. It was just a really good feeling to know we’re going to state,” he said.
So far this season, Abney’s stats have been improving. He has 91 completions out of 171 attempts, 1,061 passing yards and has thrown 13 touchdowns. Christian also enjoys using his size and his feet to his advantage. He has 159 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
“I want to use my athleticism all the time,” he said. “I feel like a lot of people don't know about my athleticism. I really want to be able to showcase that this year as much as I can.”
It is bittersweet for Christian as he prepares to leave high school and join a Division I football team.
“I'm not gonna want to leave Zionsville because it's where I grew up and [made] all of these memories,” he said. “But I'm also really excited to get up to Ball State just because I'm really excited for the challenge of coming in and having to put in a bunch of hard work.”
At the end of the day, Christian wants to do one thing with Ball State.
“Go help the team win,” he said. “I just want to do whatever I can to help the team win and maybe win a bowl game at some point.”
Contact Zach Carter with comments at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or on Twitter @ZachCarter85.
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